Jeffry Martin of the St. Paul NAACP and other civic leaders gather in St. Paul's Lewis Park to decry the treatment of Eric Hightower by St. Paul police officers, on Saturday, September 1, 2012. From left: Rev. Melvin Miller of Progressive Baptist Church, Tyrone Terrill, Chairman of the Affrican-American Leadership Council of St. Paul, Rev. Darryl Spence of The Purpose Church and coordinator of the God Squad, Bishop Kemp, Pastor of Life Changers church and a member of the God Squad, and Jeffry Martin. ( Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

Civic leaders gather in St. Paul's Lewis Park to decry the treatment of Eric Hightower, left, by St. Paul police officers, on Saturday, September 1, 2012. From left: Eric Hightower, Rev. Melvin Miller of Progressive Baptist Church, Jeffry Martin, St. Paul NAACP, Tyrone Terril, Chairman of the African-American Leadership Council of St. Paul, and Rev. Darryl Spence of The Purpose Church and coordinator of the God-Squad. ( Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

A coalition of black civic and religious leaders met Saturday, Sept. 1, in St. Paul’s Lewis Park to decry a violent arrest captured on video in the North End park last week.

“This situation is intolerable,” said the Rev. Melvin Miller, a pastor at Progressive Baptist Church in St. Paul. “We’re here to speak out against what is clearly an injustice. If it happened to any one of our brothers, sisters, friends, we’d be outraged about it, and rightfully so.”

Eric Hightower, 30, was arrested Tuesday, and video of the arrest shows Hightower being kicked by police officer Jesse Zilge while on the ground and then slammed onto the hood of a squad car. Hightower has been charged with terroristic threats, aggravated stalking and fourth-degree damage to property in connection with his ex-girlfriend, but he says that was never explained to him Tuesday.

The video — captured by one of Hightower’s friends and posted on YouTube by another — prompted St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith to place Zilge on administrative leave and begin an internal affairs investigation into the incident.

Another officer, Matthew Gorans, was later placed on leave, but police would not disclose whether he appears in the video or what information led to the paid leave.

On Saturday, the community leaders said that the suspensions and investigation are a good start but that they are concerned the fragile bonds of trust between the city’s black community and police officers might be damaged beyond repair.

“I think on Wednesday, unfortunately, we erased a lot of history,” said Darryl Spence, a pastor with the St. Paul God Squad. The video was posted online Wednesday.

The leaders also expressed concern about remarks made by St. Paul Police Federation President Dave Titus, who has called Zilge “a good cop” and has implied that people critical of the officers’ actions in the video are rushing to judgment.

Titus has said the video of the arrest “does not provide complete context of the incident and by no means demonstrates how the officer perceived the threat at hand.”

“We support community policing … and we support the police chief, but we support the chief doing the right thing,” said Tyrone Terrill, chairman of the African-American Leadership Council.

“We also support Chief Smith doing the right thing, and the right thing here is to refrain from judgment until the investigation is complete,” Titus said Saturday. “I stand by the fact officer Zilge is a good cop and man, and is respected by friends, family and co-workers.”

Hightower and his attorney, Seamus Mahoney, attended the news conference. Hightower did not speak, but Mahoney reiterated that they planned to file a civil lawsuit over the incident.

Several community leaders at the gathering said they were glad the arrest was recorded on video because it gave them proof of questionable police behavior they claim is happening out of public view.

“If that video was not taken, would we even know Eric Hightower’s name?” said Jeff Martin, president of the NAACP’s St. Paul Chapter. “Would we even know his story?”

The NAACP has set up a hotline for people who have concerns about police conduct. That number, 612-615-9344, is managed by the chapter’s legal redress committee and goes to a 24-hour cellphone, Martin said.

A native of Knife River, Minn., Will graduated from Marquette University and the University of St. Thomas. He worked at the Duluth News Tribune before moving to the Twin Cities in 2008. Will lives in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis and enjoys reading, cooking, yoga and gardening. He does not own a dog yet, but has several lists of names ready to go for when he does.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in News

St. Paul Public Schools has established a where anyone can donate money to pay off anonymous students’ overdue lunch accounts. The district said it’s a response to a social media campaign that caused many people to call the district asking how they can give. Families in the district owe nearly $28,000 on school lunches. All district schools provide free breakfasts and most offer...

Weekend snow is on tap for much of southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with 3 to 6 inches expected in the Twin Cities and more elsewhere. The snow will be followed next week by the season’s first subzero temperatures. According to the National Weather Service, a slow-moving low pressure system will spread snow into western Minnesota on Saturday morning and...

Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis is planning to reduce its workforce by as much as 4 percent next year. The hospital plans to eliminate up to 275 full-time positions to balance the budget and keep the opening of a $220 million ambulatory and outpatient surgery center on schedule for 2018, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The hospital’s workforce...

Two construction companies have agreed to pay a combined $147,500 in fines over safety violations in the death of one worker and injuries to another during construction of the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium in downtown Minneapolis last year. Berwald Roofing is paying $113,200 for three violations, while Mortenson is paying $34,300 for one violation. The penalties are lower than Minnesota’s...

Larry Stanger, the Inver Grove Heights police chief who has been on paid leave since April while being investigated for alleged wrongdoing, will resign as part of a separation agreement reached between him and the city. The city council is scheduled to consider approving the agreement at its regularly scheduled meeting Monday. City Administrator Joe Lynch and City Attorney Tim...

St. Paul police are investigating a case of possible embezzlement at Town and Country Club. Police were notified of the matter on Monday and an investigator met with representatives of the club, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman. A brief police report indicates the incident of possible embezzlement began in January 2010 and ended Dec. 2. Police are...